


Eyes on You

by NewFriendJen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort fic, Gen, Stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27378778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewFriendJen/pseuds/NewFriendJen
Summary: The story of a stressed out manager who always appears happy and positive, but is hiding her struggle. And how the boys handle it.
Kudos: 5





	Eyes on You

**2:** 03 am

_‘Daichi, I forgot to mention earlier that I will be late for practice tomorrow! I have a meeting with one of my teachers about an upcoming project! I shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes behind schedule though!’_

_‘I’m sorry for not mentioning it earlier!’_

The buzz of his phone vibrating several times in a row woke Diachi from his sleep. Rubbing his eyes and blinking under the strain of the light emanating from his screen, he saw two unread messages from the team’s second year manager YN. He frowned when he noticed that it was two in the morning.

 _‘That’s fine YN, take your time. Did you wake up at such an odd hour just because of that?’_ He sent a quick reply, hoping that the manager hadn’t woken from their slumber in a panic over the last minute reminder.

_‘Ah, no, I just couldn’t sleep. No worries though! Have a good night! Sorry for waking you!’_

He sighed, the seeds of concern settling into his stomach. He couldn’t place where the feeling came from, but he couldn’t shake it. I’ll talk to YN about it tomorrow, if only to ease my mind, he thought.

Seeing YN in the halls the next day it was blatantly obvious that YN had not slept the night before, and the concern in his stomach only continued to grow.

* * *

Being at the top of the second year class, Ennoshita shares a few classes with YN. He had even come to consider them a friend. Between their shared classes and their time spent together in clubs, it was becoming more and more apparent that YN wasn’t their usual self. Sure the radiant smile was there, the cheery tone of voice, the laughter. At a glance everything seemed perfectly normal, but when you looked closer you would notice. And Ennoshita noticed.

It started small, just the growing tenseness in YN’s shoulders. It was most noticeable when they would rub at the muscles when working on an assignment, their fingers pressing a little too hard and earning a wince. Then it was the tense set of YN’s jaw, head buried in notes while studying quietly in the club room with the other second years. The harsh pressure applied to the hinge of their jaw in an attempt to alleviate the stiffness. Next came the constant stretching, as if the manager was trying to relieve some unseen pressure in their spine. Ennoshita couldn’t help but grow restless while watching their back stretch roughly over the top of their chair in class, the disappointed sag in their shoulders when stretching didn’t help. The final piece of the puzzle was the rough pressure of their fingers digging into the muscles of their lower back and calves- an obvious attempt to soothe the discomfort there.

Ennoshita could read YN’s growing stress, and their attempts to cover it up with a false mask of positivity made him nervous. He just didn’t know how to broach the topic without coming across as creepy.

* * *

Yamaguchi had quickly grown fond of the second year manager for the volleyball club. Their bubbly personality and air of positivity was contagious. He found comfort in knowing that if he ever needed anything YN was there to help, and not just for the club either. He couldn’t count the times that they had helped him with problems he was struggling with for class, or even dealing with his social anxiety. So when he started to notice a concerning pattern in the manager’s behaviour, he didn’t know who to turn to.

It was subtle at first, they were seated on the bench rubbing their fingers into their temples. “Hey YN, are you okay?” He hadn’t meant to startle them, he just wanted to make sure they were alright. “Sorry Yamaguchi, just a little headache! I’ll be fine in a bit!” He had shrugged it off, headaches happen so it wasn’t a cause for worry. At least no until he started to notice the habit happening more and more frequently. Whether it was fingers digging into YN’s temple or pressure applied to the corner of their eyes, Yamaguchi would find the manager teetering on the edge of a headache almost every day at practice. He wanted to help, he just didn’t know how.

* * *

“YN! Are you excited for this weekend?” Noya’s voice was loud and echoed through the gym. He felt unsettled when the ever diligent manager turned to him with wide eyes, confusion easily read on their face. “Game night at Tanaka’s! Saeko-neesan is even joining this time!” YN fumbled for just a second, disappointment flashing across their face, before they smiled brightly. “Of course! Silly me! How could I forget game night! I have to get my revenge for last time!” Noya felt himself frown as the manager laughed, carrying on with their tasks. Last time they had played YN had wiped the floor with Tanaka and him, and it wasn’t like them to forget things so easily. Before he could question them about it Coach called the team over to meet before practice.

After practice Noya missed his chance to approach YN about his worries, so he voiced them to Tanaka as they walked together. “Hey bro, have you noticed anything weird with YN lately?” Tanaka gave him an odd look, placing his hand on his chin to think about it. “Hmmm, now that you mention it they have been really forgetful lately. I heard Tsukishima complaining about them missing the first year’s group study after volunteering to help with a project they were working on. Why, what’s on your mind bro?” Noya frowned, punching his hand as he turned to Tanaka. “Something is going on and we are going to get to the bottom of it. I’m getting worried.” Tanaka nodded vigorously, agreeing with his friend.

* * *

Lunch break for Kiyoko was normally spent outside sitting in the grass with the other managers from the volleyball club. She and YN had grown rather close over the past year of working together, and the two of them were enjoying getting to know their newest addition, Yachi, as well. Kiyoko was more subdued than YN, and this provided her the ability to be more attentive to her two underclassmen’s mood. She was apprehensive, having noticed a chilling change in pattern for the second year manager.

Anyone who knew YN was aware that they loved food. They had never been shy about eating in front of others the way Kiyoko and Yachi were. So noticing that the second year had been gradually eating less and less was concerning. Kiyoko mentioned as much to Yachi, her concern only growing more when the first year added the lack of snacking YN had been doing when they had study groups over the past few weeks. She decided that maybe she should approach Ennoshita, see if he could offer any advice on the issue since the two of them were close.

* * *

It was after practice one evening when all of the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place for the Karasuno crows volleyball club. YN had declined the invite to go out with the team, having homework to catch up on. The rest of them had been walking to their Coach’s shop, whispering in small groups. Hinata had been the one to bring up his distress about the missing manager’s recent behaviours.

“Hey guys, what’s wrong with YN?” The team had turned to him, wide eyed. Hinata was rather oblivious to a lot of things, so if he had noticed then they truly had reason to worry. “What do you mean Hinata?” Suga asked, pressing the younger boy to expand on his question. “Um, it’s hard to explain and it might sound weird, but it’s like their smile doesn’t reach their eyes anymore you know? Like before when they smiled their eyes would be like bright little stars, but now they’re just- dim?” He fumbled through the words, struggling to make sense of his own concern.

They spent the next half an hour talking out their concerns and deciding how they would approach the situation. They decided that the next day at practice, with the Coach’s permission, they would sit down with YN. They would start by voicing their concerns, knowing that if they asked the manager if anything was wrong they would only deny it.

* * *

YN sat on the gym floor, eyes watery with unshed tears as they listened to the members of the 

volleyball team. They had never realized how attentive the group was, never noticed how closely they watched YN. The stress of everything piled on YN’s plate over the past few months finally brought their emotions crashing down around them. The love pouring out from their closest friends pushing them to give in to the overwhelming stress and sadness they felt contaminating their body. After the tears had stopped, they all discussed what had been causing YN to feel so stressed out and helpless, each member of the team assuring their manager that they in no way expected them to be butterflies and rainbows all of the time. The team reminded the second year that it was perfectly fine to not be okay all the time, completely normal in fact.

YN thanked them all, making sure they understood just how grateful they were for each and every one of them. At the end of the day, as YN walked home with the team, they felt the weight on their shoulders lessen.

A genuine smile crossed YN’s face for the first time in weeks.


End file.
